Why We Love Mondays
by Inikus
Summary: We all love Mondays. The thought of school. The promise of a good, wholesome day's hard work. Unfortunately for these four boys, their Monday morning was spoilt by an unfortnate circumstace that swapped them with their equals in strange new dimensions.
1. Clues of an Abnormality

**Why I Love Mondays**

**We all love Mondays. The thought of school. The promise of a good, wholesome day's hard work. Unfortunately for these four boys, their Monday morning was spoilt by an unfortnate circumstace that swapped them with their equals in strange new dimensions.**

The minute Kurama woke up, it was obvious to him that something was definitely not right. The light of early morning streamed in, hitting him on the left side of his face. 'Okay, that's a little strange', he admitted. Didn't the light usually stream in from his right? His highly attuned Youkai senses told him to 'GET UP'. His eyes opened, and he had to use all of his restraint not to cry out loud. As clever as our fox is, he was able to come to the conclusion that a) His family and friends thought it would be a hilarious and intelligent prank to move all his furniture around and toss his clothes to the floor _or_ b) This wasn't his room. Indeed, it could not even be his house, it smelt completely different. And that conclusion could be drawn without the use of his foxy senses. It stank.

For some reason, his head felt like it had been given a good kick around a football pitch. Almost as if he had recently been under the influence of a large amount of alcoholic beverage. But that was impossible. After all, Kurama didn't even drink.

Expecting the worst, Kurama slipped cautiously from under the covers and searched about for some clothes to swap for the dirty outdoor clothes he had woken up in, and which were definitely not his. The thought of someone undressing and redressing him during his sleep was perhaps the most disturbing of all. Unfortunately, the only ones available seemed to be sweaters, hoodies, t-shirts and grubby jeans. More Yuusuke's style. The door swung open as he was in the act of fitting one leg into a pair of such jeans. He yelped and jumped around clumsily before collapsing into a pile on the floor. Why hadn't he sensed that coming? His Youkai senses usually forewarned him of a visitor.

"Oh, sorry man, never knew you were so modest."

Kurama looked up to find Yuusuke grinning down at him. A black something was draped over one of his arms.

"Quite alright Yuusuke." Manners first. "Maybe you could knock next time?" Yuusuke looked slightly confused.

"What, not going to beat me up? God, I miss the good old days. Keiko's changed you more than you know."

"Keiko?" Kurama spluttered. "Yuusuke, please tell me what's going on. If it's a joke, I think it's gone quite far enough." Yuusuke merely sat down on the bed and regarded his friend with a look of smugness.

"Shuichi, Shuichi, Shuichi. Always so cool. Never thought you'd fall prey to pre-wedding jitters."

"Pre-wedding?" Kurama's mind was a foggy and blank place at that moment. His voice came out in a sort of strangled squeak. Was Yuusuke being mocking when he didn't use Kurama's demon name?

"Maybe it's temporary amnesia. Wouldn't count that out. We did have a wild night last night, after all."

He stroked his chin contemplatively before an evil grin spread across his face. "You know, I've got some pretty suspect photos for you if you really don't want to go through with this. One look at them, and Keiko'll call the whole thing off."

With hindsight, Kurama reflected that never before in his thousand years of existence had he looked so ridiculous. He was pretty sure he could fit his whole foot into his mouth with how wide his jaw had dropped.

"Just put these on and we'll take it one step at a time 'kay?" Yuusuke threw him the pile of clothes that had been draped over his arm, winked conspiringly and chuckled before backing out of the room.

Kurama's head dropped to his lap, and he inspected the clothes. A smart black suit (well, it must have been prior to being thrown at him), a pressed white shirt and a bow tie. Deciding that wearing the suit had to be better than any of these tatty garments scattered around him, Kurama changed into them, feeling dazed and a little removed from reality. As you and I know, Kurama is not stupid. So, as you have likely done (If the summary wasn't any indication), he had figured out that he was a long way from home as he knew it. Being the smart Kitsune that he was, Kurama knew that his best option was to see where this strange turn of events took him.

* * *

Meanwhile (if you can make comparisons of time between separate Universes) Kazuma Kuwabara woke with a jolt, having just fallen from his chair to the floor. Wait a minute, hadn't he gone to sleep in a bed? (He took a look around) In his room? In his house? The room Kuwabara now stood in was square and bare apart from a desk, a filing cabinet, several certificates mounted on the walls and (obviously) a chair. He immediately found his defensive stance, forming his trusty spirit sword with little thought. Just as he did so, Botan walked in through the door. If Kuwabara was more observant he might have noticed that she was wearing blue scrubs, but he didn't because he wasn't. Botan, however, did not fail to notice the glowing sword. Her eyes widened as soon as she saw him.

"Good Lord!" She cried, dropping her clipboard and bringing her hands to her heart.

"What? What is it Botan!" Kuwabara demanded, fearing massive demon attacks and evil anti-human schemers. There was obviously something very wrong, and it was up to him, the great Kuwabara, protector of girls and other weak creatures, to sort it out. Botan was a white as a sheet when she replied.

"Just…came to say, they're waiting…waiting for you…" She looked as if she might faint on the spot.

"Right! Don't worry Botan! Where are they?" Botan swayed on her feet.

"Theatre 2B…" Kuwabara nodded smartly at her before pushing past and dashing off down the corridor.

The passage he passed down was white walled and sparklingly clean. Probably some sick dirt-phobic demon, he mused.

"2B eh! Not to be today, I'm afraid my demon frien-" Kuwabara's speech stopped shot when he reached theatre 2B. Inside were several people dressed in white aprons, holding their gloved hands in the air as he had seen doctors on 'ER' do just before they operated. Definitely human. Kuwabara hurriedly obliterated his spirit sword. Fortunately, only one of the nurses had seen him enter. She now stared at him as Botan had done. "Excuse me, ma'am," Kuwabara began, "Have you seen anything strange around here recently?" He certainly wasn't picking up any bad vibes (apart from the normal ones you get when you've just rushed into an operating theatre when expecting to find a crowd of battle-ready demons), which was odd, come to think of it.

"Well…for a moment there, I could swear you were holding a sword of glowing yellow…" She shook her head. "Work's really getting to me." Before Kuwabara could react (I.e. dash off to find the real danger), the door to the theatre clattered open, admitting a man on a bed pushed by two nurses. A woman and child walked next to him, looking extremely nervous.

The bed was set up in the middle of the theatre, and Kuwabara decided that it was time to slip out, whilst wondering why it was he hadn't been sent out before. Unfortunately, the woman caught his sleeve before he could escape. The little girl at her elbow looked up at Kuwabara with wide, wet eyes.

"Sir, it's an honour to meet you," The woman began. Kuwabara nodded his head uncertainly. Well, why wouldn't it be an honour? "I've heard that you're the most successful neurosurgeon that Japan has seen in years." She smiled. "I trust you with my husband. Please take care of him, I know you will, but I just don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him…"

Kuwabara's mouth was working, but no words were coming out.

"Please, mister," Oh no, it was the little girl. How was he to dash her hopes? "Make my daddy better?"

"Uh…He's a very…strong individual…I'm sure he'll be fine…" Kuwabara edged around the pair and towards the door again. Halfway there, he was caught with an apron around his middle.

"Please, doctor. Hold still," someone behind him demanded. Kuwabara whimpered. She had just called him…doctor?

"We're going to have to have you out of here now, Mrs. Stone." One of the male nurses asked. Mrs. Stone nodded and led her daughter out by the hand. Everyone turned to Kuwabara expectantly, who searched desperately through the episodes of ER he could remember in his mind. Luckily Shizuru had been quite a fan.

"Ah…yes. Mr Stone, we're going to put you over now," he said.

Mr Stone gave him a look of incredulity. "Don't you mean…put me…under?"

Kuwabara chuckled. "You've been watching too many hospital dramas, Mr Stone. No, the technical term is to 'put you over'." Kuwabara congratulated himself on his inventiveness. Kurama would be proud of this kind of quick thinking. Scratch that, Kurama would have enough sense to have got out of here ten minutes ago. The nurses around the bed looked at each other with widened eyes.

"Right, nurse, please use the antiseptic now," he commanded. The anaesthetist looked at the others again, as if very worried.

"You mean the…anaesthetic?"

"Yes."

The nurse got to work, fitting the mask of knock-out gas to Mr Stone's mouth. After Mr Stone was definitely _under_, the others turned again to Kuwabara.

"Mr Kuwabara? Are you alright?" The first nurse inquired. Kuwabara was sweating and shaking, and only the image of that hopeful family waiting for Mr Stone was enough to keep him in the room. _'What the hell am I thinking? He's going to be much better off if I don't go anywhere near him!' _One side of his brain protested, while the other argued, _'Yeah, but what if I really am a good surgeon, and I've just forgotten all the time between when I fell asleep about ten years ago and now?' 'If that's true, then I've forgotten all of my training and previous surgery, and are counting on other peoples' testimony! How is that any better!'_

"Mr Kuwabara?"

"Hm? I, I can't do this!" Kuwabara cried. The nurses looked quite taken aback.

"What's the matter? When you came in just now, I said to Grace that you were looking very well. Almost younger. Didn't I Grace?" Grace nodded.

"It'll be fine."

"No! You don't understand! I'm not Dr Kuwabara!" There were more nervous glances. "I'm his son! Yes! That's right!" He threw off his apron. "His son!" and ran out of the theatre.

* * *

The original Yuusuke Urameshi (as we know him) was in a state of sheer confusion. When Yuusuke gets confused, he also tends to become violent. Right now, he was ready to vaporise the nearest demon, no questions asked. And the likelihood that it was going to be Kurama was increasing with each minute of all walking and no talking. Usually, Yuusuke didn't mind skipping the speech and jumping right into the action, but today was not a day for usual circumstances.

Less than five minutes ago, Yuusuke had woken up to his reflection staring back at him. Also reflected in said mirror had been a clothes rack, a fruit bowl and what looked like makeup on the surface in front of him. Before he could assess the situation, the door to his left had swung open and Kurama's peroxide blond head poked through. Kurama had died his hair. It was at that moment that Yuusuke had decided that something was very, very wrong.

"Yuusuke! What the hell are you thinking!" Yuusuke, who was about to yell exactly the same thing at Kurama, had clamped his mouth shut. Kurama had frowned, sworn and shouted at him for the first time since Yuusuke had known him in the space of one sentence. And was it just Yuusuke's imagination, or was Kurama wearing makeup?

"We have two minutes 'til we're on, and you're just lazing around and _sleeping_?" His friend had huffed.

"On where?" Yuusuke had had the idea that he had somehow missed something very important. "Was this Grandma's idea?" He'd demanded with narrowed eyes. It was the kind of weird-ass thing that old hag would set him up to. "Some kind of surprise endurance training?"

Kurama had set a hand on his hip and glared. "What have you been taking? We really haven't got time to deal with another of your eccentric addictions."

Yuusuke's look of confusion had seemed only to add fuel to Kurama's irritation. "Huh?" Kurama rolled his eyes.

"Look, just come on. Hiei and Kazuma agree with me, you're really pushing our patience. Another incidence like this and you can count yourself out of the Reikai Tantei." He had grabbed onto Yuusuke's arm and hauled him up. Did the rest of the Tantei really want him out? Yuusuke had never felt more dejected in his whole life. Kurama had led him out of the room and down a busy corridor.

"But…I've always led you right! I mean, we've all made mistakes, but that's no reason to gang up on me! Hey, I practically _am_ the Reikai Tantei!"

Kurama had tightened his grip on Yuusuke's arm. Should the pain really have been that intense? "Well, if that's how you feel, maybe you can see just how well you do without us. See what everyone else thinks, hm?"

And that was how Yuusuke found himself in front of a black door. Behind it, a huge roaring noise issued. Kurama turned to him.

"How do I look?"

Yuusuke gave Kurama the once over and took in the leather jacket, boots and belt, black t-shirt and jeans. "I dunno, like some Goth wearing makeup I guess," he replied. Kurama's eyes narrowed. "C'mon man, it was just a joke! You should really take a chill pill."

"Oh really? Is that what you're on?" Yuusuke blanched.

"No! I mean-"

"Just do me a favour and don't speak again until we're off."

"You could at least tell me what I'm in for!" Yuusuke protested. He did not like to be left in the dark.

Kurama turned to him, frown still in place. "About twenty thousand, maybe more." Before Yuusuke could ask 'twenty thousand what?', Kurama had held a finger to his lips. 'Oh, right. No talking.' "Let's go in there and knock them dead."

Yuusuke allowed himself a grin. Knock them dead. At least that much he could understand.

"Now, take this." Kurama forced a guitar into Yuusuke's hands. Okay, a little weird, but maybe explainable. What confused him was the 'Reikai Tantei' emblem on the front. Since when were there Reikai brand guitars? Well, Koenma had been known to dabble. "And get in there!"

Yuusuke was given a sharp push from behind, courtesy of Kurama. He stumbled out into blinding lights, and was met with a wall of sound. In front of him were twenty thousand people. 'Well, that answers that question'. Twenty thousand black-clad, jumping, screaming people. And he was standing on a stage before them holding a guitar. If Yuusuke wasn't mistaken, this set-up looked suspiciously like something you would see at a rock concert.

"Hellllooo Tokyo!" Kurama's voice boomed around the arena, and the crowd's volume increased tenfold. He was standing at the front of the stage in front of a microphone. Yuusuke squinted through the lights and made out Hiei's diminutive form on the other side of the stage. He was holding another guitar. Whether it was a bass or not, Yuusuke seriously didn't care. It may as well be a triangle for all the music this band would be making. Oh yes, Yuusuke wasn't stupid. He knew he was definitely in a band, though quite _how_ he was in a band remained a mystery. _Was_ he on drugs? Kuwabara was sitting relaxed at a drum kit behind them.

"We're going to be playing Faith in Death for you people!" Kurama yelled. The crowd screamed in pleasure. What an apt title, Yuusuke mused.

"Two! Three! Four!" Yuusuke's attention was caught by Kuwabara's voice over the numbing noise. 'Oh shit.'

* * *

Hiei did not like being tied down. He did not like it one bit, and made sure that all within hearing range knew this too.

"You pathetic ningen! Let me the hell out of this damn thing!" Hiei screamed, practically combusting with the effort of getting out of the 'damn thing'. His face was red and his clothes twisted, and this was not a state in which he wished any ningen to catch him.

When Hiei had woken, he had found himself in a bare, white room with padded walls on a bed attached to the floor. 'Has Kurama redecorated?' had been his first thought as he opened his eyes. When he had tried the door and found himself locked in, Hiei decided to cause a bit of havoc. For some reason, his superhuman abilities were broken. The greatest feat he could manage was throwing himself against the door in an attempt to break it down. A face had appeared on the other side of the reinforced glass at the top, and worried shouting could be heard.

A ningen woman had entered before a small army of similarly white-clad re-enforcers. She had muttered something to the nearest, and they'd caught Hiei before he could make his escape, sensing freedom.

"Good morning, Mr Jaganshi." The ningen woman had said in an exasperated tone of voice. Then, she had nodded to his captors and they had dragged him off to the 'damn thing', where he had been forcibly restrained, despite the barrage of abuse he had been throwing at them.

The ningen woman came in and sat beside Hiei. She sighed and smiled wearily. "We've been over this Hiei, we can't let you out until you've calmed down." Hiei hissed at her. "We can't have you hurting yourself. That wouldn't get anyone anywhere, would it now?"

"Look, you damn ningen, I don't need your pity! Just let me the hell out of this and you'll never have to worry about who I hurt again!" Hiei growled through bared teeth.

"Have you calmed down?" She cooed, eyebrows raised.

"Yes!" Hiei spat.

"Well, when I've seen a bit of proof of that, you can have your breakfast." The lady said, and stood.

"Wait!" Hiei cried. What was worse? Submitting to this ningen's will or remaining in the restraints? He lowered his voice. "Wait…please." Was that word always so painful? If so, why did the ningen insist on using it so often?

"Oh!" The ningen woman turned. "That wasn't too hard now, was it?" She was smiling now. 'Yes, it was, you ignorant ningen bitch!'

"No." Who said he couldn't act! This was almost believable.

"Once I let you out of the restraints, I want you to make your way over to the communal cafeteria and ask for some food. I'll be right beside you, so don't worry about getting lost, okay?" She gave him a sickly sweet grin and started undoing the buckles that held together the straps on Hiei's torso. Hiei nearly jumped out of the contraption, but remembered in time that his speeding abilities had disappeared for some reason, and he could therefore be easily recaptured by the meddling ningen.

"Let's go, Hiei," The ningen said, and took his hand. _Took his hand_.

'-Don't freak out, don't freak out-' Hiei warned himself. Seriously, Mukuro's training had nothing on this. The mental torture could simply not compare to the humiliation he was feeling at the moment. The corridor they walked down was squeaky clean and populated by slobbering, grunting ningen. The walk of shame. The only respect Hiei had ever put any trust in was self-respect, and I'm sorry to say that he was consequently lacking in this. A male ningen walking the other way stopped when he saw Hiei and the his captor.

"Miss. Wantanabe! I'm glad to see the progress you're making with Hiei! I heard he had quite an outburst this morning, didn't you Mr Jaganshi?"

Hiei growled. "Don't patronise me, ningen," he spat, before remembering the act he was supposed to be putting on. The female ningen beside him squealed as he applied more pressure to the grip he had on her hand.

The other ningen looked quite shocked. "Oh, yes. Terribly sorry, Mr Jaganshi."

"Hiei, why don't we go and have some yummy food now, hey?" The female asked as a distraction. Hiei composed his face into one of complete indifference. 'This is a way to survive until someone comes to save me…Lock up my emotions. Never fails.' So, Hiei clammed up.


	2. Meanwhile

I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Sorry for not putting any author notes in the first chapter (I'm sure you all cared...) but I'm not very good with technology yet, and was too busy rejoicing that it actually loaded to figure that I never gave any explanations etc.

K, here's the deal: The guys are all in _seperate_ alternate realities, and the view point willalternate between them and their replacements every other chapter.

* * *

Back on Earth, Botan was in a panic. The Reikai Tantei had gone AWOL. They had not arrived at the assigned meeting place, and were so far no where she had searched. She cursed whatever god had decided to create a teenager as useless as Yuusuke Urameshi. 'He doesn't even keep his communicator switched on! Does he not understand the relevance of its name?'

She flew once more over Kurama's house with the demon compass. The last time she had checked, shortly before three o'clock in the morning, there had been not a trace of him. It was now half past five. She sighed and retrieved the compass from inside her kimono. Now, the little hand of the compass was definitely on to something. Botan smiled 'Yes!' and glided down to Kurama's window.

Shuichi awoke at about half past five because there was an accursed little bleeping in his ear. Or maybe it was because of the tapping on the window to his right. Or maybe both. He groaned, wondering who had tucked him into bed and swapped his clothes for clean, soft cotton pyjamas. In fact, the whole room smelt clean. He cracked open his eyes and flopped his hand out until it had reached the alarm, then he slammed it down with enough force to smash the irritating thing. There was still that tapping though. Growling in annoyance, Shuichi snuggled further beneath his duvet.

The tapping only got louder, and more frantic. Frantic, that reminded him of Keiko finding out the caterers had had to cancel because they'd double booked. He shot up in the bed. Wedding! He had a wedding! His wedding! Today! His eyes adjusted surprisingly quickly to the light. The tapping was forgotten when he took in his surroundings.

"Oh my God. Where am I?" He leapt out o f bed and looked at his obsessively neat surroundings. "Yuusuke, you are so dead!" That guy had been in charge of making sure that he didn't get so bladdered on the stag night that he went home with some random girl! Keiko would literally kill him. She had warned him, one more time and she'd leave him . Come to think of it, this looked like his old room when he had lived at home, only much, much neater. He'd lived here before his mother's death, when he had been taken in to care. Was this like 'A Christmas Carol'? Was it a warning to treat Keiko better? If it was, anything that happened here wouldn't translate back to reality. It certainly must be, because by all rights he deserved to have the hangover of a lifetime, and he felt perfectly fine.

The tapping was so loud now that he was sure whatever was making it was about to break through the glass. He wasn't so sure that it was a good idea to open the curtain. Did he really want to know? For some reason, he could tell that whatever it was did not have malignant intentions. Tentatively, he reached out a hand and yanked open the curtain. Outside, there floated an angry blue-haired lady in a pink kimono. Well, he certainly hadn't expected that. This was definitely not your average alcohol-induced fantasy.

"Kurama! Open up! I don't want to be floating around here all day!" Shuichi fumbled to open the familiar catch on his window. Memories of climbing out of here at the age of seven and breaking his arm when he had fallen came back to him, along with the memory that it had consequently been sealed. However, this window opened, so it couldn't be his house.

"I swear I've got oar burn! I've been flying around for about six hours!" The blue-haired girl complained as she hopped into his room. "It's unlike you not to get up immediately." That was enough to convince Shuichi that she was mistaking him for another person.

"Hey, lady. What the hell's going on? You the ghost of Wedding present?" Shuichi jibed. The lady looked at him as if he was mad.

"Kurama?" She said uncertainly.

"If you say so." Shuichi grinned. "You know, I think your daddy must have been a thief."

"E-excuse me?" Blue-hair looked utterly perplexed.

"That's right. I think he stole a couple of stars from heaven and dropped them in your eyes when you were a little girl."

Botan, for some reason, looked hurt. "That's just mean Kurama. You know I don't have a father, and I was never a little girl!"

Shuichi rocked on his heels. "Now, that doesn't make much sense. You're still cute, though." He winked at her. She huffed, whilst blushing a furious red. "What's your name, beautiful?"

"Botan, silly! I was created by king Enma. I'm a spirit! Different rules apply."

"Okay, not a ghost but a spirit. You're still a cute _spirit_, then. Did my mind create you?"

"Kurama, we really haven't got time to stand here and philosophise." She turned away to hide the blush. "We need to find Yuusuke and the others. They're completely AWOL." She fiddled with her oar.

"Yuusuke? Now why would my mind bring him into a perfect fantasy like this?" Shuichi mused aloud.

"Are you alright Kurama? You know, I couldn't pick up your youki on my demon compass earlier. You seem totally different."

"I have demon ki?" Shuichi asked eagerly. "Like magic powers?"

"Um…I guess you could say they're like magic powers…" Botan felt Shuichi's forehead. "You don't seem to be sick, but you don't sound well."

Shuichi chuckled. "Has anyone ever told you, you have a way with words?" Botan slapped him lightly on the arm.

"Stop flirting! We've got more important things to do!"

"Was I being so transparent? Yuusuke's right when he says that Keiko's changed me." Shuichi said. Botan stared at him as if he had grown a new head. She didn't know whether to slap him, laugh or cry at the failure of her mission.

"Do I want to know?" She asked weakly. Shuichi smirked.

"Keiko's the most amazing girl. I was a real jerk before I met her. I bet you'd like her." Okay, so she hadn't wanted to know.

"Let's just get on with finding the others, okay? Use your foxy senses or something."

"Foxy senses eh? Not some kinky pornographic fantasy, is this?" He waggled his eyebrows in a way that reminded Botan uncomfortably of Yuusuke.

"Kurama! I'm going to…tear my hair out in a minute!"

Shuichi pursed his lips. "I wouldn't want that. You've got such pretty hair. A unique colour."

Botan had had enough. "Just stay here! Don't go anywhere, and I'll be back as soon as I've found the others." Shuichi held up his hands. "Can I trust you?" She pleaded him with her eyes.

"Hey, what do you take me for?"

"Not a sane being, that's for sure," Botan snapped, and remounted her oar with a wince. Shuichi watched with a faint smile on his face as she sailed through the window and into the sky lit with the pink of the morning sunrise. What a pleasant dream. Well, he certainly wasn't going to obey a figment of his own imagination, look where that had got Scrooge. He hadn't actually read 'A Christmas Carol' but he had seen enough of the movie (before he had fallen asleep) to know that Scrooge had been a thoroughly unpleasant man.

He glanced at his alarm. Damn, broken. What time was it? There were noises from downstairs and the smell of cooking food. Wondering what kind of spirit was going to be at the bottom of the stairs, and wondering whether he would be required to vanquish them with his new powers, Shuichi wandered down the hall and then the stairs.

He was ready for whatever lay in there. Monsters, demons, spirits, ghosts, you name it, he was up to fighting it. What he was not prepared for was the woman frying eggs with a smile on her face.

"M-mother?" Shuichi gasped.

"Oh! Morning Shuichi! I didn't know whether you'd be wanting eggs or bacon, so I made them both. I'll eat whatever you don't want."

Shiori jumped when she was suddenly embraced fiercely from behind.

"Darling, don't do that! I nearly had the egg all down my front!" She turned to Shuichi, who then attached himself to her front. "Shuichi, dear, is there something wrong?" To her shock, Shuichi's eyes were brimming with tears when he looked at her.

"Mother, mother…you're alive!"

"Oh, dear. Did you have a nightmare?" Shiori asked, concerned.

"Yes, yes I did." His emerald eyes met with hers, a bewildered smile on his lips. " I just woke up."

* * *

"Kazuma! Get your butt out of bed!"

Kuwabara rolled in his bed and fell out of the side. He groaned loudly and cursed his old bones. That voice…it reminded him of his Aneki, but she lived in Canada with her husband, so it couldn't be her. Unless she had decided to pop over. She always did so at the most inconvenient times. Had his wife let her in? He swore it, all women were out to get him.

He untangled himself from the mess of blankets and stood and stretched…and stopped. This wasn't his home, this was the flat he vaguely remembered from his youth. His parents and he had looked around it when they were deciding whether they should take the offered jobs in Tokyo and leave him in the care of his sister. This would have been for him and his sister and a weekend flat for them. In the end, they had the declined the jobs in order to stay with their children. But, what the hell was going on now?

He tested the waters.

"Aneki?"

"What?" Was the irritated reply. Oh dear, this looked rather an elaborate set-up to be a practical joke. Kuwabara left the bedroom to looked about for his sister.

"Ah, what's going on?" He asked meekly. He found her in the kitchen smoking a cigarette. "Since when did you smoke?"

"Ha, ha." Shizuru said monotonously without turning to face him. She was buttering some bread on the counter. "I hope you're ready, 'cause I'm not driving you to school again if you miss the bus."

"School?" Kuwabara asked, baffled. He was pushing thirty from the wrong direction, and his sister wasn't one to make stupid jokes.

"Yeah, you know, the place where some people go to learn stuff…" She turned to him. "Good Lord! What's happened to you! You've aged terribly!"

"Well, hello to you too. I was hoping you could tell me where I am, and what's going on. Did Ai arrange to have you abduct me?"

Shizuru rubbed her temples with her hands, one still clutching the buttery knife. "Kazuma, I don't want to know what kind of Spirit World deal you've got mixed up in now, but you better have it sorted out by tomorrow. God knows you don't need any more catching up to do. Now go away, you look creepy with wrinkles."

He wasn't that bad, was he? "Aneki?" Kuwabara asked.

"Hm?"

"What year is this? I think I may have gone back in time. But, this isn't what happened when I was…about fifteen?"

Shizuru raised her head and nodded. "That's right. But…you're saying that you're not Kazuma?"

"Yes, I am. Just, not as you know him, I believe."

"The Kazuma I know couldn't have drawn those conclusions without a brain transplant, so I guess you're right."

Kuwabara glanced around. "So, Spirit World, hey? Was that an inside joke?"

"No." Shizuru replied bluntly. "Spirit World. Kind of like school, except you go there when you die."

"Um…like school?"

"Obligatory."

"I see." Shizuru had always been a strange one. "And, do I…work for them?" He asked. Shizuru nodded, face to the ground. She obviously had a problem with his age. "I thought so, I've always been able to form some sort of glowing sword out of thin air. I never told anyone about it back…home."

"There must be some major time and/or dimension warping going on here. Koenma's going to fry if his dad finds out." She looked sharply out of the window. "It's okay, Botan's going to be here in two minutes, so she'll take you where you need to go."

"Botan? That's the name of my personal assistant in the hospital I work at." Kuwabara replied. He took a seat at the table. "You know, the Shizuru of twenty that I used to know didn't smoke." Shizuru stubbed out her cigarette and sat down beside him.

"Oh yeah? What went right in her life?"

"Well, they didn't take the job in Tokyo. Our parents, I mean. They stayed in Moshiyori to look after you-my sister and me. I'm a neurosurgeon by the way."

Shizuru didn't look up for the time it took for Botan to fly in through the window. Kuwabara decided not to mention the fact that she also looked exactly like his personal assistant from another dimension. It (they) really was (were) a small world (s) wasn't it? (weren't they?). It would only complicate matters, and that really wasn't advisable given the current situation.

"Kuwabara! You look so old!" Botan cried when she saw him. Honestly, Kuwabara mused, he should really be worrying that finding his personal assistant was the one about to fly him to the Spirit World wasn't surprising to him any more.

"He'll explain later," Shizuru cut in. "Just take him to the Reikai. Koenma's got some major explaining to do." Botan nodded and beckoned to Kuwabara to get on her oar. He was stopped with a hand on his arm. "You know, I think Kazuma could have really benefited from meeting you. He has very low expectations of himself."

* * *

Keiko knocked rapidly on Yuusuke Urameshi's bedroom door. His mother had let her in, and Keiko was currently waiting for him to get up and walk her to school. After about five minutes of rapping, the door was flung open from inside and Yuusuke's sleep-ridden face filled the space between door and frame, barring her entrance.

"Finally, Yuusuke! You know, I've been waiting here for a quarter of an hour! We're going to be late for school if you don't get dressed right now!"

"Who the hell are you?" Yuusuke asked. His eyes were blood-shot and his figure stooped. Keiko stepped back out of instinct. "Fuck the hell off, damn wench." He slammed the door in Keiko's face. This was beyond slapping. This was beyond fuming or the silent treatment. In fact, this was so far beyond anything that Yuusuke had ever done before that Keiko didn't know what to do but sit on the floor and cry. So, she did just that.

Atsuko found her a few minutes later.

"Don't worry, Keiko. I'll teach that brat some manners." She slammed on the door with her fist. "Yuusuke! How dare you be so rude to Keiko! She's stuck by you through thick and thin! The least you can do to repay her is acknowledge her presence!"

"The-the least you c-can do is be n-nice to m-me! That's the l-least I d-deserve" Keiko corrected Atsuko through her sobs.

"Exactly!" Atsuko said. The door opened again. "Oh! Yuusuke, what have you been doing? Have you been drinking? You look a state!"

Yuusuke smirked ironically. "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you." This time Keiko noticed the grating quality of his voice.

"Yuusuke!" She said worriedly, her previous anger forgotten. "What made you do it? Are you feeling depressed? You can tell me, we'll deal with it together."

Yuusuke frowned at the brown-haired girl. "Who're you, my keeper? What, I'm not allowed to enjoy myself anymore?" He was about to slam the door again, but Keiko's foot stopped it.

"Please, Yuusuke. We all care about you."

Yuusuke glanced around the hallway. "All? I only see two of you, and I don't know who the hell you are." He said to Keiko. "Did my mum hire you? Hey? Did you mum? Feeling guilty you never came to see any of my concerts? The weeping girlfriend is a nice touch, mum, but really a bit too unbelievable. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a lot of sleeping to do before the Tokyo concert."

This time, Keiko was too confused to prevent Yuusuke from shutting his door. There was no time for tears of self-pity, there was definitely something wrong with Yuusuke, and she'd get to the bottom of it or her name wasn't Keiko Yukimura.

"What're we looking at?" Piped up a voice from directly behind Keiko. She jumped and saw Botan. "I only see Yuusuke's bedroom door."

"Oh, yes…we're just in shock," Keiko replied awkwardly. Atsuko shook her head and wondered off, muttering something about finding some sake. Keiko frowned at her back. She wasn't even going to try?

"Shock over what?" Botan asked. "You know," She went on before Keiko could reply, "Some really weird stuff's been happening lately. Kurama's started acting really…" she blushed, "flirtatious. Kuwabara's aged about fifteen years and God knows where Hiei is!"

Keiko frowned. "Well, I've got more bad news then. Yuusuke doesn't know who I am. In fact, I don't think he neither knows nor cares what's going on."

Botan buried her face in her hands. "I've been up since midnight!"

Keiko patted her on the back reassuringly. "If it's any consolation, it really doesn't show," Botan looked up at her, "-that much."

"Thanks Keiko. Let's go and get Yuusuke to the Reikai. Maybe we can figure out what's going on there."

* * *

On the other side of town, Hiei fell out of a tree. He was pretty sure he hadn't fallen asleep in one, but for some reason his mind had recently been tricking him. He got up, surprised at the lack of damage he had sustained. Feeling around his body for breaks, his hand closed around something long. And hard.

"Hello, am I just pleased to see myself this morning or is that…" He opened his black cloak. "A…Katana!" He turned his head to the sky. "THANK YOU GOD!" He cried to the heavens. The passers-by who had not heard his earlier mutterings soon joined the movement away from the strange black-clad man. He withdrew the gleaming blade from its sheath and swished it around in the air for a bit. Finding its swishiness to be in order, Hiei proceeded to check how it was at just sitting in his hand while he walked around. There were several screams and the sound of running feet on the gravel pathways of the park, but other than that, Hiei was allowed to enjoy his newly found freedom to the accompaniment of the wind in the trees and birdsong.

* * *

Yep. Hiei is one crazy demon in this story. In case you hadn't noticed, they have each gained the abilities (or lack of) of their replacements.

Furthermore, I have nothing against mentally unstable people and apologise if the last chapter and coming chapters offend(ed) anyone.

This chapter is dedicated to dk-joy, Meri Kaisla and Lanie N. who were very nice and reviewed the first chapter!


	3. In which there are developments

I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Looking back, I'm shocked at how well the tantei are taking this. Obviously, I'm only narrating the events, so it's not up to me, but there is a part of me that says; this is a tad unrealistic.  
I'm sorry that nothing much happens with Hiei in this chapter, but I promise there will be more Hiei-ness in later chapters. Just enjoy the cringiness of Kurama's predicament!

* * *

All in all, Kurama decided to regard the new circumstances as another experience to add to his expansive list (marry best friend's girlfriend-check!). He was currently at the alter end of the church aisle, awaiting his bride. Why he had decided to go through with the charade remained as much a mystery to Kurama as it does for us (or maybe this author just can't explain away the big loophole that is his stupidity). So, there he stood. Yuusuke looked as nervous as he felt. The alcohol Kurama had apparently consumed last night was definitely making itself known. He could still hardly stand up straight.

Kurama had since discovered that his Youkai powers had disappeared. He guessed that it was up to the Reikai to transport him quickly back to his own dimension since it was not his fault he'd found himself where he was. He wasn't going to waste his time with figuring out a way back. He was going to enjoy himself. He gave a subtle grin.

Keiko really was taking a long time. He glanced to his row of pews. It was, to say the least, much less populously inhabited than Keiko's side. He saw the Kuwabaras, Yukina and some people he didn't know. His family weren't even there. Oh well, at least this wasn't his reality, he mused. It struck him then that he may be living the most momentous day of this Shuichi's life for him. Oops. Oh well, no time to feel guilty. If he left now, he'd be walking out on the other Shuichi's bride, which would be even worse. What if the other Shuichi turned up now? How embarrassing. He was pretty sure Yuusuke had a clue that there was something odd going on after the way he had acted during the day. Just how uncouth was this other-dimensional Shuichi? Not that he judged himself to be the perfect rule, of course…

Yuusuke had taken him aside during the preparations and given him a grin.

"Let's put it behind us shall we?" He had said.

"Put what behind us?" Kurama had asked.

"You know, the whole thing where I said I wasn't okay with the match. I can see now that you're a great guy for Keiko. Hey! You're my best buddy! I wouldn't trust anyone else with her. She really loves you." He had given a smile. But there was something else in that smile. Was it…sadness? Kurama wasn't quite sure.

"Thanks, Yuusuke. You're a real friend."

"Think nothing of it. Hey, just think of the surprise on Keiko's face when she sees me!"

"Surprise?"

"Yeah, I…told her I wasn't going to be coming."

He turned back to face the alter. Just as he did so, the organ started. The wedding march. Oh, if his mother could see him now. Everyone stood as Keiko moved gracefully down the aisle. She was smiling, showering the world with the glorious light of her radiating love. She was clutching a bouquet of white roses. She was wearing a long gown of white silk. She was…staring at Yuusuke? Okay, that was unexpected. Maybe the veil was just making it look that way.

Nope, not the veil. As Keiko moved closer it became more obvious to him that there was definitely some Yuusuke-ogling going on. Kurama was getting a few smiles, sure, but Keiko's attention was definitely fixed on Yuusuke. That wasn't any made up emotion in her eyes. It was pure, shining love.

As Keiko reached the alter she gave Yuusuke another long smile. Kurama thought she whispered something to him, but without his Youkai senses, he really couldn't be sure.

The priest droned on and on. Kurama felt sweat bead on his forehead from the drink last night. The world seemed to tip slightly.

"If anyone knows of a just impediment why these two should not be wedded in holy matrimony, let them speak now, or forever hold their peace," The priest said.

Kurama thought about Yuusuke. About the sadness in his eyes. About Keiko and the love shining from hers. They had been the perfect couple in his dimension, that was actual proof that they belonged together. He knew then what he had to do.

"I believe I do." There was a hum of speech in the background as Kurama's words took their meaning in the congregation's minds. Keiko turned to him with shock written in her eyes. His eyes were tender in response. "Keiko, you don't have to marry me."

"What?" She whispered.

"I can see in your eyes who your true soul mate is."

"Who?" She whispered again, faintly. His eyes flickered to Yuusuke, and found him extremely surprised.

"Yuusuke."

Oh, they were going to love him for doing this.

Complete and utter silence reigned heavy and thick on those gathered under the cross. Kurama fixed his eyes on Keiko's, trying to figure out which emotion was prevailing in their chocolate depths. To his surprise, he found it to be humiliation. _Angry_ humiliation!

"What?" The colour that had drained from her face was now rushing back with full force. "What do you think I am!" Her voice echoed off the walls of the ancient structure. Kurama flinched.

"Uh…free?" He guessed hopefully.

"Argh!" She placed two hands on his chest and pushed. Hard. Boy, this body really wasn't good at handling drinks. He stumbled into Yuusuke. Upon studying said boy's face, Kurama found that there too was a good deal of angry humiliation. Along with something else. What was the expression? Oh yes, Murderous Intent.

"I don't know what I ever _saw_ in you!" Keiko screamed. Wow, Kurama had never seen this side of Keiko before and he was not enjoying the experience. He backed away from the angry couple. "You and your stupid, tasteless jokes! I can't believe you would insinuate in front of my whole family that I am in love with my own _brother_! You sick, disgusting, infantile, worthless waste of my time!" She gave him a sharp slap with every adjective. Kurama's heart plummeted down to the region of his toes.

"Don't ever come back to me! Yuusuke was right, you're not mature enough to get married, and you're certainly not good enough for me! You never will be!"

Before Kurama could even say 'belly-up', a punch in the face from the other brown-haired sibling was the combination the alcohol and slaps needed to knock him out cold.

* * *

Kuwabara was extremely thankful that he had got out of the hospital before the real interrogating started. He shivered, remembering how close he had been to making the incision into the man's flesh. Was he really stupid enough to go that far? Well, desperate times…

The trouble now was where on Earth to go. Not that he _was_ on Earth. He didn't recognise his surroundings. In his hurry to get away, the hapless Kuwabara had unfortunately stumbled into the 'bad' side of town. Some people were throwing him extremely dirty looks.

"Hey, Beetroot!" some genius shouted from the shadows. Kuwabara was not in the mood to fight these otherworldly people. It might get to the stage where he had to kill someone. So, he ducked his head and strode on faster. "Hey, you! I'm talking to you! Are you deaf!" Kuwabara sincerely wished he was. The shadow-hidden shouter was following him. Someone rushed past him, knocking him slightly sideways. It was a red-haired girl, running away from the direction from which the voice issued. "C'mon pretty! I just want to talk!" The voice went on. "Me and my friends are lost."

Kuwabara's initial relief that they were not talking to him was replaced with fear for the girl's safety. Wearing that short skirt wasn't exactly such a great idea amongst these surroundings. The shadow caller and his friends moved into the dim light, hurrying towards the red headed girl. Kuwabara made chase, hoping he could reach her before they did.

The girl's gasping breath could be heard as Kuwabara neared the chase. The men were making crude noises behind her, causing her to sob in her panic. Those lining the street knew that it was in their best interest to stay out, though together they could probably have overpowered the youths. Kuwabara silently damned them for their cowardice.

"Hey, miss!" He called while running. The girl made no sign that she had heard. Kuwabara picked up his pace, and soon passed the gang. He was on a level with the girl, who was making good speed. "Hey, miss!" He repeated. "I'll take them! You just keep running!"

The girl glanced at him quickly and nodded. At that moment, a stray dog decided to jump out of an alley in front of her path. She gasped and tripped over it, falling flat on her front.

"Hey! Thanks mate!" One of the men called out. Kuwabara turned and punched him in the face. He was out before he hit the ground. The others stopped and looked at Kuwabara with animal aggression.

"You stay out of this! You got a death wish?" They rolled up their sleeves. Kuwabara needed to stall the men so that the girl could get away. It didn't seem like she was the first thing on their minds anymore. They advanced from three sides. Kuwabara hardly had to move before all were lying flat out on the ground. Ch'. He had forgotten how pathetic most humans were. He silenced his thoughts before he could remind himself any more of Hiei.

A groan behind him caused Kuwabara to turn. The girl still lay on the ground, her hair splayed over her face like blood.

"Hey, you okay, miss?" He asked.

"I - I think so." She moved slightly. "It's just…my ankle." There was something soothing about the unaccountable familiarity of her voice.

"Here, let me help you home," Kuwabara insisted, and moved to pick up the fallen maiden.

The girl put up a light protest. Kuwabara lifted her into his arms and took his first look at her face. Thankfully for the girl, Kuwabara had impressive reflexes, or she would have ended up back on the ground.

"K-Kurama!"

* * *

Kurama gave an animal-like shriek as Kuwabara's drums kicked in, in a way that he must have believed was impressively rock-n-roll. Yuusuke gulped. The crowd had their drums. They had their…Kurama. They had little Hiei on the bass. But they didn't have their guitar. Yuusuke stood there feeling stupid (despite feeling that he was the only sane one in the room), as the band's noise petered out pathetically.

As one, twenty thousand and three heads turned to look at Yuusuke. They did not look pleased. Not one little bit.

If Yuusuke thought he could find any sympathy in his band's eyes, he was sadly mistaken. The drumming had stopped. The bass had stopped. The…Kurama had stopped. Now all that remained was the booing. And boy, could this crowd boo.

Yuusuke watched, shaking in his little leather boots, as Kurama walked towards him. Hunter and prey. Hiei was on the move, too. Kuwabara simply looked hurt at the crowd's noise.

"Yuusuke," Kurama said in a deathly silky voice, which somehow managed to drown out the melee of noise from the protesting crowd. "You are no longer a member of Reikai Tantei. You will personally cover the cost of hiring this venue, and then you can pay every single member of this crowd, our fans, the money they are owed for buying a ticket."

"Uh…What?" Yuusuke stuttered. This wasn't even real! It couldn't be! Why was it freaking him out so badly? Was Grandma recording this to use against him at a later date? He straightened up self-consciously.

"He's totally stoned." Hiei growled. "And that's if we're lucky. Is this what you meant when you talked about 'band spirit' when we started this thing up? It was your idea that we did this in the first place. You're pathetic Yuusuke Urameshi. You've ruined your own life. We can take another guitarist and hire someone to write our songs, but you're just going to be a wash out for the rest of your life." If Yuusuke wasn't taking drugs yet, he was definitely considering it now. Something to ease the biting pain of rejection by his friends. "Play now. Or we're going to make good on the promises."

A second chance! A last chance! Yuusuke took up the guitar. He could do this damnit! Fortunately, he had taken some lessons off an 'uncle' (His mother's boyfriend) a few years ago, so knew the very basics. His fingers found some strings. He wasn't sure if it was a chord, but he was about to find out. He moved to the centre stage and faced the crowd, who grew quiet, expectant. Taking a deep breath, Yuusuke strummed. And again.

Hey! Not bad! Now, Yuusuke isn't as stupid as he sometimes appears, as we have already discussed. So, even if he was the last of the Tantei to do so, we can give him a little credit for deciding (rightly) that this could be the dimension that he remembered. The strumming sounded a bit like an old track by Muse…Hopefully, they hadn't already heard this one in this other dimension. Kuwabara started up the beat. It wasn't the same as the original, but it was remarkably good.

"Alright!" Yuusuke cried, and nodded to Kurama. Hiei had reluctantly picked out a base line. Kurama was looking distinctly pouty, but he too drew the microphone to his lips and started improvising. Yuusuke felt the notes come to his fingers, like he had been born to do this! The crowd seemed to love it. They were jumping up and down like crazy.

Yuusuke did a few little leaps on the stage, really getting into the swing of things. The whole set was improvised, and Yuusuke was sure the melody from 'Barbie girl' had managed to crawl its way into one of the songs. Fortunately, Kurama had some wicked lyrics that would make any Barbie girl melt on the spot into a large plastic puddle.

Yuusuke had never had more fun in his life.

* * *

Hiei was currently contemplating how best to jump the security fence that surrounded the 'recreation time' area of the asylum. It looked very small to him, but he didn't know what his new limits were. He glanced around him, and shivered. He was being confused with one of these damn crazy ningen? The thought was insufferable. Crazy demons would never be able to survive in the Makai. Except power-crazy ones, which was most of them.

"Mr Jaganshi!" Called out a sing-song voice. It was that nurse. Miss 'Wantanabe'. She had been clinging to him like a gnat, going on about how pleased she was with something she called his 'progress'. The thought that there had been a mentally unstable version of himself in another dimension was humiliating enough, but Hiei dreaded to think what would happen to his reputation if this was not just a transferral for him, but an actual swap, whereby the other Hiei was now wondering around in his clothes, in his dimension.

"Mr Jaganshi! There you are! I've got a special appointment for you, scheduled with Dr Mitsubishi (Okay, I'm not very good with inventing Japanese names, so sue me)!" She called.

Hiei grimaced at her caterwauling and turned to give her a steady glare. So far, his decision to remain obstinately silent and cold seemed to be working.

"Everyone's so impressed with the progress you've made!" Her face was actually glowing with pride. 'guess they don't get many success stories in here'. "I think you'll be ready to be integrated back into society again within the year!"

"How ironic," Hiei droned.

Miss Wantanabe's smile wavered. "Ironic?"

"I believe I'll seriously go crazy if you lock me up in here for that long." His eyes glittered maliciously. "And then I simply won't be able to suppress my violent instincts." Maybe that hadn't been the best thing to say. Miss Wantanabe's shoulders slumped in disappointment at his 'relapse'. If only he still had the brawn to back up such a threat. At the moment he was at best a skinny, short ningen with an attitude problem.

"I know there's still a chance for you. Something's changed about you, I know it," The ningen said sadly. Her eyes pleaded with him.

"Hn. What do you want?"

"Just give us a chance to help you. That's why we're here." Hiei fought to stop himself from punching something very, very hard.

"Hn."

Miss Wantanabe sighed and moved off, letting him enjoy the rest of his recreation period (extended on account of good behaviour!) in peace.

* * *

This chapter is dedicated to Lanie N. (Thanks so much for two reviews!), Meri Kaisla (Same to you!) andHanna M. for their sweetreviews of chapter 2blushes, and also to Hikaru no Kyuutaru for her (not being too presumtuous in thinking you're female, am I?) review of chapter 1. Every review gives me a happy buzz. Way better than red bull for the spirit. Thanks for bothering!

If anyone wants to suggest something, please review. Or just if you want to make me happy.


	4. In Which Kagome Randomly Appears

Newsflash(Exclaimation mark...for some reason, it won't let me put one here): Changed my name from Sukini to Inikus, because I felt like it.

It's been a while since I last updated. Sorry!This chapter is set in the Reikai Tantei's world with their otherworldly replacements. Please enjoy, and don't forget to review!

Disclaimers apply

**

* * *

****Chapter Four: **

**In which Kagome makes a random guest appearance**

Shuichi Minamino decided that the wish he had made six years ago on his sixteenth birthday had finally come true. His mother was packing his bento box at the counter. He had a dad, and a little brother. He had been a little shocked when the pair had stepped into the room that morning, but passed it off as just another temporary treat. How long would this blissful dream last? He remembered everything familiar about his mother. The smile crinkles. The warmth and security of her embrace. The smell of baking and flowers that she emanated. He had a little grin on his face until his mother told him to go upstairs and dress for school.

"Honestly Shuichi, you're old enough for me not to have to tell you any more," She had chided teasingly.

"Yes Mother," Shuichi'd replied, rolling his eyes in the same teasing manner as if put upon. Just saying her name sent a small spark of pleasure through him. School hadn't been part of the wish, but maybe he was getting a small portion of his childhood returned to him. School was just another of those things associated with growing up.

Upstairs, it was easy enough to find his school uniform. It was displayed neatly on a coat hanger at the front of his closet. So useful, having the wish fairy (_spirit_, he reminded himself) tidy his room for him. He assumed that Botan was such a creature, being sure that she had set up the whole thing. He didn't see any other blue-haired girls floating around the place, so she was a very credible creature to lay the cause to. He certainly hadn't been the one to tidy his room before he had left it all those years ago.

The colour wasn't as he would have chosen it, but who was he to complain? He put on the clothes and admired his reflection. Oh yes, Shuichi was willing to admit he was quite the lady-killer. He gave a charming smile to the red head in his mirror, imagining a hoard of adoring females.

"Don't worry Keiko, I've got eyes only for you." he told the reflection. "But I'm still a man, I can't exactly blind myself to pretty things," he admitted.

"Shuichi! The bus is going to be here in five minutes!" His mother called up the stairs.

"Coming mother!" Shuichi replied. He saw a book bag lying beside the desk, upon which was a neat pile of homework. He grinned and sent his silent thanks to the wish fairy, stuffing the homework into the bag as he did so.

He gave his mother a kiss on the cheek as he left with his brother. He took her appearance in, making sure to remember every detail in case the dream ended too soon.

As soon as the pair were off down the street, Shuichi tuned to the brown-haired boy beside him. "So. What's your name?"

The boy regarded him with wide, worried eyes. "I'm...Shuichi. Um, you've been acting off all morning, there's nothing wrong, is there?"

Shuichi chuckled. "Your name is Shuichi?" He shook his head. "I guess I'm just not that imaginative." his brother raised his eyebrows but made no comment. "Maybe I was imagination-ed out when I thought of you, eh?"

Shuichi remained silent for the rest of the short distance, casting worried glances at his brother every so often.

The bus rounded the corner, and the two brothers hurried to the bus stop.

Shuichi climbed aboard and found the bus filled with empty single seats. Didn't school children usually want to sit next to their friends? The answer to this philosophical question was answered immediately by a girl with brown pigtails.

"Oh, Shuichi! I've saved you a place!" Obviously, not when you wanted to bag the school hottie. Honestly, he should set up some sort of shrine to the mysterious wish fairy. He gave her a charming smile whilst searching for the most…advantageous seat with his eyes. They settled on a raven-haired beauty sitting alone beside the window, reading.

He politely declined pigtail-girl's offer as well as many others. He swung down next to the girl, who jumped slightly and lost her line in the book.

"Sorry," Shuichi whispered to her, causing her to blush prettily. This girl wasn't oblivious to his masculine allure, then? He thought smugly.

The girl attempted to read again, but obviously could not concentrate.

"What're you reading?" The redhead asked.

"Um, set text." The girl mumbled. She flapped the cover up for him. "Cold Mountain."

Shuichi nodded. Things really needed to liven up. This was his dream after all. "I'm Shuichi." He said suddenly. The girl looked up but didn't quite make it to his eyes, settling on his lips instead.

"I know- I'm Higurashi." She replied, and went back to her reading. She knew, eh? His lady-skills be infamous around here.

Shuichi tapped out a rhythm on his school bag. After about a minute, Higurashi turned to him abruptly.

"Could you please…stop tapping," She asked stiffly.

"Only if you stop reading," He replied with a wink. Higurashi quickly turned away. A couple more minutes passed.

"Please, stop tapping," Higurashi reiterated. From her tone of voice, this was obviously getting to her in a big way.

"What did I say?" This time there was a charming little grin on his face.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop reading if you stop tapping." She slipped the book back into her bag. "I think you of all people should be encouraging reading."

"Me of _all_ people?"

Higurashi blushed again. "Well, you _are_ the school's Book Club President."

"What!" Shuichi cried, nearly jumping out of his seat. "You think I'm some kind of nerd!"

"No! No! I didn't say that! I was merely stating a fact!" the poor brunette yelped.

"Yeah, but am I?" This couldn't be! Famous not for his way with the females, but for nerdiness!

"Wha- I don't know!" She spluttered. "Uh…Define nerd,"

Shuichi didn't bother. He just sat there, sulking and silently cursing the damn wish fairy.

* * *

Kuwabara sat in Koenma's reception, flicking calmly through 'Oni Beautiful' (feeling stressed? Discover 100 ways to avoid getting buried in Koenma's paperwork). He had just reached a rather interesting advertisement for skin wax (red, blue, green, yellow - feel beautiful in your own skin!) when the door to Koenma's personal office swung open. 

'About time! Now I know how my patients must feel,' Kuwabara thought.

Koenma's toddler form drifted from the open door, and Kuwabara stifled a snort of incredulity. No wonder the world was on its head with that little guy in charge.

"Ah! Kuwabara. Botan said it was urgent." The little ruler began.

'Three hours ago?' "How kind of you to take time out of your busy schedule to undo your mistakes," Kuwabara parried evenly.

"No problem." There was no remorse in Koenma's voice. "Now, perhaps you can tell me what exactly the dilemma is."

"Can I come in?" He gestured to the office. Koenma shrugged

"Fine." He looked a little confused at the formality but didn't protest it. Kuwabara sat in front of Koenma's desk and crossed his legs.

"I'm not Kuwabara."

"What!" Koenma squeaked and pressed a big red button on the side of his desk. "Security! Get me security!"

Kuwabara held up his hands in a submissive gesture. "Well, I am, but not as you know him. Did you not notice the change in my appearance?"

Koenma squinted at him. "You look just the same. Orange hair. Eyes. Nose. Mouth below. Quite tall. Panic over," he smoothly informed two scrawny looking onis who had jumped to the rescue at the call of the panic button.

Kuwabara frowned. "Yes, but I am also thirty two years old! According to my - to Shizuru, the Kuwabara you know is fifteen!"

Koenma brought the tips of his fingers together with an indifferent look on his face. "Mm-hmm. Anyway, you think you don't belong here. Alright, that's something to go on, I suppose. Do you know when this feeling of inadequacy started?" He leaned back in the chair. Kuwabara brought a hand to his face.

"This isn't my world. How can I make myself any clearer to you?"

"Wait a minute, wasn't Botan supposed to be assembling you all? There's been some demon activity in Osaka I need you guys to sort out. It's very urgent, apparently they're trying to rear test-tube babies for tender human meat to sell back in the Makai. Stealing eggs from human women."

"What!" Kuwabara yelled, jumping in his seat. "I knew I wasn't crazy! There are such things as demons! Stealing eggs from human women! That's repulsive! No need to fear, Lord Koenma, I will do whatever I can to rectify this problem." Kuwabara was standing by this point, in this world's Kuwabara's patented heroic pose. All thought of the dimension mix-up was forgotten.

"Excellent! As soon as we have the more competent…the other members of the Tantei gathered, we can commence with the operation." He nodded in satisfaction. "Ogre!" He yelled, and the blue assistant came rushing through the door. "Get me Botan. We need Kuwabara returned to the demon site, and I want to know what's going on here."

* * *

"Yuusuke! Please come out now!" Keiko called for the thousandth time, desperately trying to keep her voice sweet and enticing despite her irritation. "You know you're being no good to anyone in there. Botan's here; she says that Koenma's got a really important job for you. Everyone's counting on you Yuusuke." 

The only time that Yuusuke had opened the door was to give the girls the finger after they had been knocking and calling for ten minutes.

"Right. I'm going in." Botan slammed her oar into the door, which sprang open at the impact. "Yuusuke Urameshi! I hope you have an apology ready for your abysmal behaviour this morning!" Yuusuke had crawled back into bed, and only a mop of messy black hair was visible over the top of his duvet. "Keiko! Back me up here!"

Keiko strode into the room behind her blue-haired friend. "She's right, Yuusuke. You'd better have a good excuse. I need you to get back to normal, the _world_ needs you! Please?" She sat down on the edge of the bed and laid a hand on Yuusuke's shoulder.

Botan was huffing. "Cut the crap!" She grabbed the duvet and yanked. Duvet, clothes, Keiko and all fell to the floor. "Alright, mister! I've been up since midnight searching for you and the others! So, I don't care that you think you're too good for saving the world, it needs you! And I want to sleep!"

Yuusuke lay there in a pair of boxers, looking bewildered and very pissed. Keiko jumped up off the floor.

"Alright Keiko, I'll need your help." Botan rolled up her sleeves and got into a ready stance. "On the count of two, we're going to dress the lazy git and by the count of three, we ought to have him on my oar and half way to the site of the demon activities."

Keiko nodded.

"One. Two-"

Botan was right. Before Yuusuke could count to three, Keiko had forced some jeans on him and Botan had pulled him up and onto the oar.

"Three. Bye Keiko, thanks for your help!"

Keiko waved as Botan flew off with Yuusuke, who looked to be in a state of shock.

"Bring him back safely!"

Yuusuke didn't know what he had taken, but he was seriously never doing it again. The cold air whipped against his bare chest as he clung to Botan for dear life. The ground was a mere memory as they sped across forests and mountains, far away from the strange brown-haired girl who had seemed to care about him so much. He remembered her face as she had leaned out of his bedroom window, turned up to the sunlight and watching him speed away to the east. She had looked…radiant. Maybe the drug hadn't been such a bad thing after all…

"Uh…where are we going?"

"It's at a factory a couple of miles outside of Osaka. Koenma says you just have to go in there and destroy the demons' whole operation, so it shouldn't require any big thinking. Just blow stuff up, I guess. You'll shine at it."

Yuusuke turned his head sharply to her, and got a mouthful of blue hair for his troubles. "Pah!" He spat it out as best he could whilst gripping firmly to her pink kimono. "Blow stuff up! How the hell am I supposed to do that!"

Botan sighed. "Don't try and be sarcastic Yuusuke, you're not very good at it." Ignoring any other spluttering she heard from behind her, Botan continued. "You might have a bit of a wait when I drop you just outside. Just hold your own until I can pick up Kurama from his house and Kuwabara from the Reikai. And actually _find_ Hiei. Okay? Oh! There it is!"

Yuusuke's heart rocketed into his mouth as they dropped faster than they could have fallen down to where the grey roof a factory was visible among some trees. Botan landed such a distance from the building that they would be inconspicuous. "Koenma didn't tell me much. All I know is that human women keep disappearing from within the vicinity of the factory, then turning up later with no recollection of what happened."

"Woman!"

"Hm?"

"Whatever you think I'm going to do, I can't do it!"

"What are you talking about? You're the Reikai Tantei. You are the only one who _can _do it! It's easier than some of the stuff you've done before." Yuusuke had to admit, he had done some pretty impressive stuff in his life, and he _was _the Reikai Tantei. Try telling that to Kurama and Hiei though, he thought. Without him, the band would be nothing.

"Just go in there and destroy stuff then arrest the enemy, blah blah blah. I've got to go now, good luck! Before Yuusuke could protest at being left hundreds of miles from home next to a dangerous factory, Botan took off into the air. Not to mention the fact that he was half-naked.

It was at that moment that the Yuusuke from another dimension decided to have a big think. Stretching back to as far as he could remember, he tried to remember what could have brought him to the situation he was currently facing. Maybe sometime in a drug/alcohol induced state of half-awareness he had made a stupid promise to the weird blue-haired girl that he had never intended to follow through. Hadn't he fallen asleep just before he was about to go on stage in Tokyo? His biggest concert in Japan ever? The rest of the Reikai Tantei were going to be sooo pissed when they saw that he was missing. And he hadn't lived at home for three years. Heck, he hadn't even talked to his mum in three years.

Unfortunately, being deep in thought may have been the reason that three guards from the factory had time to fetch their Big Guns and run back to point them in his face. They had sensed a huge and unmasked ki and come running.

"Hands above your head!" Yuusuke jumped, and caught sight of the Big Guns pointed in his face. And added it to the list of 'Things That I Really Don't Deserve'. The brutes with the guns were green and muscular and - was that a tail? Yuusuke lifted his hands slowly above his head. The guards approached with caution, which somewhat confused the rock star.

"Don't try anything!" Yuusuke nodded quickly. Gaining confidence, the guards strode forward and grabbed his wrists, tying them behind his back with something that felt like hot rope.

"Ow! What is this stuff?" Yuusuke demanded, trying to escape the bindings.

The guard who was in front of him grinned, displaying a mouth of rotting teeth. "It's ki restraining rope. Try as hard as you want, Reikai Tantei, you won't be able to escape." His grin widened at Yuusuke's surprise. Even the green-skinned monster knew of his band? Wow, now _that_ was popularity. Before he had a chance to bathe in the compliment, the guards grabbed various parts of his arms and torso and dragged him off in the direction of the factory.

* * *

Hiei was having great fun. He was currently being chased by several people in dark blue suits. Everyone else was making way for the chase, some even screaming him on! Well, screaming about something. His speed seemed to have increased greatly since he had last checked, which had been in that white walled place with the kind lady. He had the idea that he could go even faster than this, too. He tried it. 

The world became a blur, colours and shapes speeding past. As objects approached, he could sense and avoid them! He had to stop very shortly because of an itch in his arm. He wasn't in the park anymore, but in a crowded pedestrian street. Several people were staring at him as if he had appeared out of thin air. He glared at them.

There were many colourful shops lining the street, humming with noises and activity. He sighed and rubbed the irritating bandage on his arm as he felt another itch. As if something was trying to escape. This thought was forgotten when one particular store caught his eye. Hiei decided that he had found a good use for the speedy thing he could now do. So, he zipped across the street and into the shop, right to the counter.

"I want that one."

The cashier looked down in shock at the little man's sudden appearance. "The…the blackcurrant ice cream?" He asked.

"No. I want that one. Now." Hiei got out his new katana and pointed to the mint choc chip ice cream, just to clear up any misunderstanding.

"N-now, there's no need for that!" The cashier scooped the ice cream out of its tub with shaking hands. "Single or d-double cone, s-sir?"

"That one." The cashier yelped as the sword whipped through the air above his head to point to the double cone.

"V-very well," the man stuttered. He loosened his collar. "Will that be card or cash?" Hiei scowled. "N-never mind!" He practically threw the ice cream at Hiei.

"Hn." Hiei smiled, a little bright one that might have almost looked cute to the cashier if the little man's sword wasn't still being twirled around absently as said little man devoured the ice cream.

"C-come again!"

Hiei ignored the cashier and made his way back into the sunshine, then disappeared. The cashier fainted.

Meanwhile, Botan was flying from Kurama's house (where he hadn't been, damnit!) to his school to find him. To her surprise and delight, she spotted Hiei materialising out of thin air just below her, and she stopped.

'Yes! Just the good luck I need right now!' She thought naively as she pointed her oar downwards to descend.

Hiei was feeling a little queasy from his speeding after eating. He was definitely going to take that bandage off now, it was beginning to itch like mad!

Before his mind had time to react, his body had sensed the approach of a large airborne missile, and pointed his sword at it before impact. Impact never came, as the flying missile stopped skilfully three centimetres from it's tip.

Botan looked at the gleaming object with wide eyes. "Hiei, it's only me!" Hiei's eyes held no recognition. "I'm so glad I found you!" She dismounted and pushed the sword aside, apparently oblivious to the look of outrage that he gave her at her boldness. "Koenma's got a new mission for you. There's a demon organisation near Osaka where they're stealing human eggs for baby meat to sell over in the Makai!" She said. There was a patient wait before Hiei slowly brought his sword back up to point at the ferry girl. His eyes narrowed.

"What have you been doing lately?" 'Oh dear, the lights are on but nobody's home' The blank look told Botan that there was obviously something mentally wrong with the fire demon, so she would treat him with caution.

"Hn." He glowered.

"Were you eating yoghurt?" Well, there was a smudge of something beside his little mouth. Hiei's frown only deepened. "Um…cream?" Nope. "Ice cream?"

A light seemed to go on in Hiei's head. "Where?" He demanded.

Botan thanked all the Gods for this stroke of good luck. "Just a small distance away. Sit up here, and I'll take you to it!" She brought the oar out and Hiei looked at it cautiously. "It's melting as we speak!" Botan said desperately. This seemed to decide the matter. He hopped onto the oar.

'No sudden movements' Botan told herself. She really didn't need to be scaring Hiei away while he was in such a delicate state. She manoeuvred the oar off the ground and to the Reikai, where her little cargo would certainly be less dangerous to humans.

Hiei moved so that he was looking backwards off the oar as it travelled. He swung his legs carelessly and took out his sword to inspect it. Botan looked back and barely repressed a maternal 'aw!'

* * *

Chapter dedicated to all my lovely reviewers of Chapter Three; Hikaru (first name terms, eh?), Hanna M, Lanie N (creepily similar names...), Meri Kaisla and Criptic Kitsune! You're all fantastic. 


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